Electronic Textiles with Electronic Devices on Ribbons

ABSTRACT

Ribbons containing e.g. inorganic NMOS devices are assembled in electrical contact with ribbons containing e.g. PMOS devices (preferably organic) to enable flexible electronic textile circuits to be inexpensive and practical for a wide variety of functions. The use of ribbons provides flexibility, reduces costs, and allows testing during assembly and different processes to be efficiently used for different components. This is apparently the first time that ribbons (especially inorganic-device-containing ribbons) have been interconnected to form a flexible CMOS electronic textile.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application a divisional application of and claims priority basedon U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,677, filed Jan. 29, 2008,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/887,117, filed Jan. 29, 2007, the contents of which is incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to flexible electronic circuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs or organic LEDs) have beenused as display elements on a display-wide sheet on a plastic substrate.As the polymeric light-emitting diode (PLED) type of OLED uses apolymeric emissive electroluminescent layer, the light emitting materialcan be applied without vacuum deposition, such emissive materials can beapplied by printing techniques. Such OLEDs have been printed in rows andcolumns on a plastic substrate to create a color display, for televisionand cell phone screens. Organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) for suchdisplays can also be printed on the display. Liquid crystal display(LCDs) pixels have also been used as display elements on a flexibledisplay-wide substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As described herein, the use of ribbons, with active devices such asthin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated completely on individualribbons, and assembly with connections between ribbons enables flexibleelectronic textiles to be inexpensive and practical for a wide varietyof functions.

This is especially useful as different types of ribbons, e.g. ribbonscontaining inorganic active devices can be assembled with ribbonscontaining organic active devices in a textile. This allows differentprocesses to be efficiently used for different components. One type ofdevice (e.g. inorganic-TFT or SRAM) can be fabricated on one type ofribbon, and another type of device (e.g. organic-TFT, or LED) fabricatedon another type of ribbon. Different color LEDs can also be fabricatedon different ribbons. A number of ribbons can then be assembled in amanner where the different types of ribbons are electricallyinterconnected. In some embodiments, individual memory cells arefabricated on a ribbon. The use of ribbons provides flexibility andreduces costs. This is apparently the first time that ribbons containingdevices such as thin-film transistors have been used in an electronictextile.

Making an electronic textile with ribbons provides a relatively large,relatively flat ribbon surface for creating electronic devices, such asTFTs, and for creating surface contacts on the surface of the ribbons(as opposed to a textile made from threads). Ribbons also provideorientation of rotation for ribbon-to-ribbon electrical contacting. Thuselectronic devices and surface contacts can be created on a top surfaceof a warp ribbon and be easily orientated for electrical connection withelectronic devices and surface contacts on a bottom surface of anoverlying weft ribbon. This also allows fabrication processing all onone side of a ribbon, reducing costs.

TFTs may be used such that ribbons contain entire memory cells. Byhaving whole memory cells on one ribbon, the number of interconnectionsat ribbon cross-over points (e.g. where a warp ribbon crosses over, andhas one or more electrical contact with, a weft ribbon) can be held to areasonable number (e.g. two or three), while still retaining theadvantages of ribbon fabrication.

In some embodiments, a number of whole memory cells on one ribbon (e.g.5, 6, or 8) are connected together to give multiple (e.g. 5, 6, or 8)bits of digital memory. Thus 5 or 6 bits of memory could be stored forcontrolling the intensity of a sub-pixel on an adjacent (e.g.over-lying) ribbon in a display. A D-to-A (D/A) converter can be used todrive a transistor controlling current through an LED in an adjacentribbon. One ribbon may be used to control a row of sub-pixels in adisplay and thus have, e.g. 16 bits per pixel and, e.g. 1024 pixels in arow, and thus over 16,000 memory cells on one ribbon.

In one embodiment herein, ribbons containing inorganic NMOS devices areassembled in electrical contact with ribbons containing PMOS devices(preferably organic) to enable flexible electronic textile circuits tobe inexpensive and practical for a wide variety of functions. The use ofribbons provides flexibility, reduces costs, and allows differentprocesses to be efficiently used for different components. This isapparently the first time that ribbons (especiallyinorganic-device-containing ribbons) have been interconnected to form aflexible CMOS electronic textile.

This can be a method of assembling an active CMOS circuit containingelectronic textile; comprising: providing ribbons containing PMOSorganic transistors; providing ribbons containing inorganic NMOStransistors; and attaching the PMOS organic transistor ribbons inelectrical contact (direct or indirect) with the inorganic NMOStransistors ribbons to provide a CMOS electronic textile. An entire NMOStransistor is fabricated on a single ribbon and is preferablylithography fabricated. The PMOS transistors also fabricated on a ribbonand preferably also lithography fabricated. The NMOS and PMOStransistors are generally thin film transistors (TFTs). Generally, theribbons have devices directly or indirectly electrically connected tothe surface contacts (they may be directly connected by one or moreconductor, or there may be intervening devices). The ribbons may also beindirectly electrically connected to other ribbons, (e.g. may beconnected through other ribbons, or threads, or wires). In someembodiments, the PMOS containing ribbons are woven with the NMOScontaining ribbons. In other embodiments, the ribbons are attached to abacking and in some embodiments, the ribbons are woven and attached to abacking.

This can also be a method of assembling an electronic circuit textile;comprising: providing ribbons containing organic p-type thin filmtransistors; providing ribbons containing non-single-crystal inorganicsemiconductor n-type thin film transistors; and placing the organicsemiconductor transistor ribbons in electrical contact with theinorganic semiconductor transistor ribbons to provide an electronictextile.

Entire inorganic TFTs (not just parts of a TFT) are fabricated on aribbon (not a thread, and not a large sheet of plastic) and arepreferably lithography fabricated. Organic devices (e.g. entire LEDs)are also fabricated on a ribbon and can also be lithography fabricated.The display is formed by assembling a number of ribbons in a mannerwhere the ribbons are electrically interconnected, and thus devices onone ribbon are interconnected to devices on other ribbons to form atextile that is a functional unit. Further, entire inorganic SRAMS mayalso be fabricated on a ribbon.

The use of circuits with a combination of ribbons containing inorganicNMOS devices in combination with ribbons containing organic PMOS devicesalso enables flexible electronic textiles to be inexpensive andpractical for a wide variety of functions. Using ribbons provides alarger, flatter surface (than, e.g. threads) for creating multipletransistors on a ribbon, or even multiple SRAMs on a short ribbonsegment, and also room for creating surface contacts on the surface ofthe ribbons.

This is apparently the first time that such selected devices on ribbonshave been used in an electronic textile. The transistors herein can beentirely fabricated on a single ribbon, and are preferably lithographyfabricated. Using semiconductor fabrication techniques, all thematerials for devices such as battery cells, light sensors, antennas,and solar cells can be deposited on ribbon substrates, and can be wiredto contacts on the ribbon surface.

In various embodiments, the electronic textile contains functionaldevices such as batteries, light sensors, antennas, and/or energycollectors (e.g. solar cells or RF collectors), while other functionaldevices may be on the active organic semiconductor device ribbons and/orthe active inorganic semiconductor device ribbons and/or other ribbons.In some applications, the functional devices provide power for thetextile. In some applications, the functional devices providecommunication (receiver, transceiver, or signaling) capabilities for thetextile.

This can be a method of making an electronic textile; comprising:providing ribbons containing thin-film transistors directly orindirectly electrically connected to surface contacts and least one typeof functional device selected from the group consisting of: a batterycell, a light sensor, an antenna, and a solar cell, with the functionaldevice being directly or indirectly electrically connected to surfacecontacts; and assembling the ribbons such that the ribbons areelectrically interconnected to at least one other of the ribbons by thesurface contacts to provide an electronic textile, whereby thefunctional devices can provide power or communication capabilities forthe textile.

Interconnecting ribbons can also be used to make connections betweenvarious areas of the textile that have different functions. For example,solar cells might be in one area, and battery cells in another area andthe two be connected by interconnecting ribbons. A battery chargecontrol circuit could be located between the two. Such an arrangementcould be worn e.g. as a hat, shirt, or vest and used to charge portabledevices such as a cell phone.

A radio transceiver might be connected by interconnecting ribbons to anantenna and have a connector for a headset. Similarly, a radio may beconnected to an antenna and have a connector for earphones or a speaker.Using memory within the textile could enable it to be used as an MP3player. Such applications could be run from battery and/or solar powerusing functional devices described above. An antenna can also be used tocollect energy.

The textile may provide radio or transceiver circuitry, which may bebattery and/or solar powered. Line-of-sight communication systems mightuse light sensors and LEDs (preferably narrow band) for receiving andsending signals. In either case, signal encryption and/or de-encryptioncould be done within the textile.

A cyclist's vest could flash a strobe signal when activated by a car'sheadlights. Such applications could be largely devices on ribbons,integrated in a textile with interconnecting ribbons, and the textilecould have connectors for things such as earphones.

In some embodiments, the textile contains ribbons with lithographicallyfabricated inorganic NMOS thin-film transistors. In some embodiments,the textile contains ribbons with lithographically fabricated organicPMOS transistors. In some embodiments, the textile contains ribbons withinorganic thin-film transistors, and ribbons with organic transistors.

In some embodiments, the textile contains solar cells, solar cell outputcontrol circuitry and a battery. In some embodiments, the textilecontains at least one of a battery and a solar cell, and contains anantenna, and is at least part of a radio.

This can also be a method of providing an electronic textile,comprising: providing ribbons containing inorganic thin film transistorsthe transistors being directly or indirectly electrically connected tosurface contacts; providing ribbons containing at least one functionaldevice selected from the group consisting of: a battery cell, a lightsensor, an antenna, and a solar cell, with the functional device beingdirectly or indirectly electrically connected to surface contacts; andelectrically interconnecting the ribbons to provide an electronictextile. The textile may contain ribbons having inorganic transistors,and ribbons having organic transistors, and with the ribbons havinginorganic transistors, substantially perpendicular to ribbons havingorganic transistors.

The textile may be used in an article of clothing, be waterproof, and/ormay have memory cells woven into the textile and/or attached to abacking. The textile may contain fusible link circuitry for enteringidentification information into the textile.

This can also be a method of making an electronic textile; comprising:providing ribbons containing thin-film transistors directly orindirectly electrically connected to surface contacts and a powerproviding or communication capability providing functional device, withthe functional device being directly or indirectly electricallyconnected to surface contacts; and assembling the ribbons such that theribbons are electrically interconnected to at least one other of theribbons by the surface contacts to provide an electronic textile.

As described herein, the use of ribbons containing static memory cells,may also now enable flexible electronic textiles to be inexpensive andpractical for a wide variety of functions. By having whole TFTs andpreferably whole memory cells on one ribbon, the number ofinterconnections at ribbon cross-over points can be held to a reasonablenumber (e.g. two or three) while still retaining the advantages ofribbon fabrication. The use of static memory cells allows asynchronousaddressing and the addressing of individual cells only when that valuechanges, dramatically reducing power and bandwidth requirements

This can be a method of providing an electronic textile, comprising:providing ribbons containing memory cells; and placing said ribbons indirect or indirect electrical contact to electrically interconnect saidribbons to provide an electronic textile with the memory cells. Thetextile may contain ribbons with memory cells having inorganictransistors, and/or ribbons with memory cells having organictransistors. The memory cells may be entirely fabricated on a singleribbon, and are preferably lithographically fabricated. In someembodiments, the textile contains ribbons with inorganic transistors,and adjacent ribbons with organic transistors, and inorganic transistorson ribbons are electrically interconnected with organic transistors onadjacent ribbons, to form SRAM cells.

This may also be a method of providing an electronic textile,comprising: providing ribbons containing static random access memorycells, and electrically interconnecting the ribbons to provide anelectronic textile with memory cells that can be addressed on a cell bycell basis. Preferably, the memory cells have thin film transistors. Inthis embodiment, individual memory cells are fabricated on a ribbon. Thestatic random access memory cells are preferably cells such as SRAMcells or FRAM (ferroelectric-RAM) cells. This can also be a method ofproviding an electronic textile, comprising: providing ribbonscontaining thin film transistors; and electrically interconnecting theribbons to provide an electronic textile with static random accessmemory cells that can be addressed on a cell by cell basis. The staticrandom access memory cells may be inorganic, organic or a combination ofthe two. The static random access memory cells may be six transistorcells.

TFTs may be used such that ribbons contain whole memory cells. By havingwhole memory cells on one ribbon, the number of interconnections at eachribbon cross-over (e.g. where a warp ribbon crosses over, and has one ormore electrical contact with, a weft ribbon) can be held to a reasonablenumber (e.g. two or three) of interconnections, while still retainingthe advantages of ribbon fabrication.

In some embodiments, a number of entire memory cells on one ribbon (e.g.5, or 6) are connected together to give multiple (e.g. 5, or 6) bits ofdigital memory. Thus 5 or 6 bits of memory could be stored forcontrolling the intensity of a sub-pixel on an adjacent (e.g.over-lying) ribbon in a display. A D-to-A (D/A) converter can be used todrive a transistor controlling current through an LED in an adjacentribbon. A JPEG incoming signal can also be locally converted to 16-bitcolor signals. One ribbon may be used to control a row of sub-pixels ina display and thus have, e.g. 16 bits per pixel (for 16-bit color) and,e.g. 1024 pixels in a row, and thus over 16,000 memory cells on oneribbon. Similarly, 8 or 9 memory cells might be grouped together in alarge static memory.

Also described herein, the use of ribbons containing inorganicsemiconductor active devices (e.g. transistors, andtransistor-containing circuits on each ribbon), now enables flexibleelectronic textiles to be inexpensive and practical for a wide varietyof functions. This is especially useful as different types of ribbons,e.g. ribbons containing organic active devices assembled with ribbonscontaining inorganic active devices, can be used in combination,allowing different processes to be efficiently used for differentcomponents. The use of ribbons provides flexibility and reduces costs.This is apparently the first time that transistor-containing ribbonshave been used in an electronic textile.

This can be a method of assembling an electronic textile, comprising:providing ribbons containing non-single-crystal inorganic semiconductordevices directly or indirectly electrically connected to surfacecontacts; and assembling said ribbons with electrical interconnectionsthrough said surface contacts to an electronic textile. Preferably, theinorganic semiconductor devices are thin-film transistors and/or diodes(the inorganic devices can be polycrystalline or amorphous). The activeinorganic devices are entirely fabricated on a single ribbon and arepreferably lithographically fabricated. The textile preferably alsocontains ribbons containing active organic semiconductor devices, withthe active organic containing ribbons being in direct or indirectelectrical contact with the surface contacts of the inorganicsemiconductor ribbons.

This can also be a method of assembling an electronic textile;comprising: providing ribbons containing active organic semiconductordevices; providing ribbons containing at least one of inorganicsemiconductor transistors and inorganic semiconductor diodes; andplacing the organic containing semiconductor ribbons in direct orindirect electrical contact with the inorganic semiconductor containingribbons to provide an electronic textile. In some embodiments, theelectronic textile has inert ribbons and/or threads with no conductorsor surface contacts, e.g., as spacers, or to aid in keeping ribbonsaligned.

This may also be a method of assembling a woven electronic textile;comprising: providing a ribbon containing an active organicsemiconductor device; providing a ribbon containing an active inorganicdevice, wherein said active inorganic device is at least one of aninorganic semiconductor transistor and an inorganic semiconductor diode;and weaving the active organic ribbon in direct or indirect electricalcontact with the transistor ribbon to provide a woven electronictextile. In other embodiments, some or all of the ribbons are not woven,but are attached to a textile backing.

This may also be an electronic textile having ribbons containing activesemiconductors, comprising: an active inorganic semiconductor devicecontaining ribbon; and an active organic semiconductor containingribbon, wherein the active organic semiconductor containing ribbon is inelectrical contact with the inorganic semiconductor device containingribbon to provide a woven electronic textile.

This can also be an electronic textile ribbon; comprising: an inorganicsemiconductor device containing ribbon; and at least one electricalsurface contact, the surface contact being in electrical contact withthe inorganic semiconductor device, and being on a surface (e.g. on atop surface) of the inorganic semiconductor device containing ribbon,whereby the surface contact is capable of providing an electricalconnection between the inorganic semiconductor device and anotherelectronic textile ribbon (e.g. a ribbon having a bottom surfacecontact). The inorganic semiconductor device can be an inorganic TFT ora memory cell. The other electronic textile ribbon can be an organicdevice containing ribbon, such as a LCD or an LED containing ribbon.

The use of circuits with a combination of ribbons containing inorganicactive devices (and especially a combination of different types ofribbons, e.g. ribbons containing organic active devices with ribbonscontaining inorganic active devices), now also enables flexibleelectronic textiles to be inexpensive and practical for a wide varietyof functions.

This can be a method of making an electronic textile using ribbonscontaining organic semiconductor devices, and assembling said ribbonsinto an electronic textile. Preferably, at least some of the organicsemiconductor devices are organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). Thetextile can have ribbons of organic TFTs woven (and in direct orindirect electrical contact) with ribbons of inorganic (or otherorganic) TFTs. The textile may also contains ribbons containing organicdisplay devices (pixel or sub-pixel cells) with the organic displaydevice (e.g. LED, or LCD) containing ribbons assembled into saidelectronic textile with the organic semiconductor ribbons.

This may also be a method of assembling an electronic textile;comprising: providing ribbons that contain organic thin-film transistorsdirectly or indirectly electrically connected to surface contacts; andassembling the ribbons with electrical interconnections through thesurface contacts to provide an electronic textile. Generally, theribbons containing organic thin-film transistors are directly orindirectly electrically connected to the surface contacts (they may bedirectly connected by one or more conductor, or there may be interveningdevices). The ribbons may also be indirectly electrically connected toother ribbons, (e.g. may be connected through other ribbons, or threads,or wires). The organic thin-film transistors on ribbons may be connectedin RAM cells.

This can also be a method of assembling an electronic textile;comprising: providing ribbons containing organic TFTs; and placing theorganic TFT containing ribbons in direct or indirect electrical contactto form an organic RAM cell to provide an electronic memory containingtextile. The ribbons may be woven into the textile or used inconjunction with a backing to provide the textile.

This may also be an electronic textile ribbon; comprising: a ribboncontaining an organic device; and at least one electrical contact on asurface of the ribbon, the surface contact being in electrical contactwith the organic device, whereby the surface contact is capable ofproviding an electrical connection between the organic device andanother electronic textile ribbon.

The ribbon organic device may be an organic TFT which may be part of amemory cell. The organic device may be an LED, especially an organic TFTin combination with an LED containing ribbon. The ribbon may be part ofa textile used in an article of clothing and/or used in a display. Thefirst electronic textile ribbon may be an organic pixel or sub-pixelcell containing ribbon.

The textile may be waterproof and in some embodiments may be used in anarticle of clothing. In some embodiments, the memory cells are woveninto the textile, and in other embodiments the memory cells attached toa backing, and in still other embodiments, the memory cells arepartially woven into the textile and partially attached (e.g. sewn) to abacking. A textile of random access memory cells may be used to controlLEDs. The textile may be used in conjunction with a computer (circuitryand/or monitor), or in a television, e.g. as a large TV display. Thetransistors are entirely fabricated on a single ribbon, and arepreferably lithographically fabricated.

In some embodiments, the electronic textile has inert ribbons and/orthreads with no conductors or surface contacts, e.g., as spacers, or toaid in keeping ribbons aligned. In some embodiments, the electronictextile also has ribbons and/or threads with conductors and surfacecontacts, but without active devices, for interconnecting memory-cellribbons. In some embodiments, the electronic textile contains ribbonswith passive devices such as capacitors or resistors. In someembodiments, the electronic textile contains other functional devicessuch as batteries, light sensors, and/or energy collectors (e.g. solarcells or RF collectors).

The ribbons may be woven in the textile or be used in conjunction with(e.g. attached to) a woven backing. The textile may provide red, greenand blue light. In some embodiments, intensity of light generated in thetextile is digitally controlled. The textile may provide visible light,and/or UV light and/or IR light. The use of static RAM pixel drivecircuits, such as SRAMs or FRAMs allows asynchronous addressing and theaddressing of individual pixels only when that pixel changes, ratherthan addressing every pixel 60 to 80 times a second as with dynamic RAMpixel drive circuits, dramatically reducing power and bandwidthrequirements (see “Display Bandwidth Reduction via Latched Pixels andProcessing at the Pixel” by B. Gnade, et al; Cockpit Displays IX:Displays For Defense Applications, Darrel G. Hopper, Editor, ProceedingsOf SPIE Vol. 4712 (2002) Copyright 2002 SPIE 0277-786X/02, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein.)

The use of textiles with ribbons now enables flexible electronictextiles to be practical and allows the combination of ribbonsfabricated using different types of processing. Using ribbons provides alarger, flatter surface (than, e.g. threads) for creating electronicdevices, such as transistors and for creating surface contacts on thesurface of the ribbons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and further advantages of the invention may be betterunderstood by referring to the following description in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings (which use an analog RAM for simplicity), inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a portion of an electronic textile (part of a display inthis example) with side view of a segment of an LED (e.g. anOLED)-containing ribbon with a sub-pixel (e.g. red) LED, woven with aRAM-containing ribbon (shown in cross-section), and an inert thread(shown in cross-section), with the bottom of the LED-containing ribbonbeing in electrical contact with the top of the RAM-containing ribbon;

FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of a segment of the LED-containing ribbon;

FIG. 3 shows a top view of a segment of the RAM-containing ribbon;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a segment of the LED-containingribbon; and

FIG. 5 shows a circuit arrangement for such a sub-pixel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts thatcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways tomake and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of theinvention.

To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms aredefined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understoodby a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the presentinvention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to referto only a singular entity, but include the general class of which aspecific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein isused to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usagedoes not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.

Devices can be manufactured on a ribbon, preferably by thin-filmfabrication techniques. Flat surfaces on ribbons can allow mostsemiconductor manufacturing techniques to be used. Multilayerdepositions can be used and devices on the ribbon can be sealed and canbe encapsulated. Devices can be patterned by lithographic techniques.Vacuum deposition of materials through metal shadow masks, and screenprinting can also be used. Reel to reel techniques can be used inmanufacturing (including in-vacuum manufacturing). Ribbons may be verylong, e.g. hundred, or thousands of feet), and then cut to the desiredlength. Ribbons can be quite wide (e.g. a foot or more) or may berelatively narrow, e.g. 1/32th of an inch, or less, for moderately large(e.g. 8 foot wide) displays. Connectors can be placed on some or allends of the ribbons. Multiple ribbons can also be connected to oneconnector. Ribbons can contain addressing circuitry, e.g. on one or moresides of a display or memory, to minimize the number of connections tothe textile. Connectors can be used for incoming signals and/or incomingpower. Outgoing connections can be used to connect to external devices,such as earphones or headsets, or to an item to be charged, e.g. cellphones, or MP3 Players.

Using known semiconductor fabrication techniques, all the materials forflexible thin-film transistors (including insulators and encapsulates)can be deposited in flexible form on ribbon substrates, and can be wiredinto circuits and to contacts on the ribbon surface. Using knownsemiconductor fabrication techniques, all the materials for batterycells, light sensors, antennas, and solar cells can also be deposited inthin-film flexible form on ribbon substrates, and can be wired intocircuits and to contacts on the ribbon surface. Using semiconductorfabrication techniques, battery cells, light sensors, antennas, andsolar cells can all be fabricated in very narrow areas (e.g. 1 mm by 3mm, or 1 mm by 100 mm) and thus can be fabricated on relatively narrowribbons. In many embodiments, the ribbons herein are preferably between0.5 mm and 1 cm, but in some applications, e.g. very large displays,sub-pixels (and their ribbons) may be 10 cm or more, and may use, e.g.screen printing, rather than lithography. Thin-film batteries aredescribed for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,056,620, “Thin film batteryand method of manufacture” to Krasnov et al, and 6,962,613“Low-temperature fabrication of thin-film energy-storage devices” toJenson (which notes a flexible substrate). As used herein, the term“containing” as regards to devices and TFTs and such means devicesfabricated on the surface of or within a ribbon and internallyelectrically connected within the ribbon, e.g. to ribbon longitudinalconductors, to other devices contained within the ribbon and/or tosurface contacts. Devices fabricated on the surface may be deposited bysemiconductor processes, lithographically patterned, deposited throughmasks, printed (including screen printed), etc.

Interconnecting ribbons can also be used to make connections betweenvarious areas of the textile that have different functions. For example,solar cells might be in one area, and battery cells in another area andbe connected by interconnecting ribbons. A battery charge controlcircuit could be located between the two. A radio transceiver might beconnected by interconnecting ribbons to an antenna and have a connectorfor a headset. Line-of-sight communication systems might use lightsensors and LEDs (preferably narrow band) for receiving and sendingsignals. A cyclist's vest could flash a strobe signal when activated bya car's headlights. Such applications could be largely devices onribbons, integrated in a textile with interconnecting ribbons.

The ribbons may be woven together much the same as a basket weave,however, the weave may vary with a ribbon going over two or more ribbonsbefore going under a ribbon again. Fastening ribbons on a fabric backing(by, e.g. sewing) can provide even more flexibility, as, e.g., one typeof ribbon could be on top most or even all of the time.

The ribbon textile can contain memory circuitry and longitudinalconductors for addressing the memory circuitry (e.g. bitlines in thewarp ribbons and word-lines in the weft ribbons).

The textile can contain organic display-device ribbons in direct orindirect electrical contact with TFT ribbons through surface contacts.The organic-display-device containing ribbons can contain devices suchas organic LEDs or LCDs and also have organic transistors. In oneembodiment, organic-display-device-containing ribbons also containorganic transistors to control current to organic LEDs or controlvoltages to LCDs, with the organic transistors receiving signals frommemory cells on different ribbons (this reduces current through surfacecontacts, and in some cases the signals may be capacitively orinductively coupled). The ribbon with the memory cells may have organicor inorganic memory cells. The memory cells may be static or dynamic. Asused herein the terms “electrical contact” and “ribbon-to-ribbonelectrical contacting” and “electrically interconnected” and“electrically connected” and “electrical connection” include beingplaced in position to be capacitively or inductive coupled. Further,measurements for defect testing and alignment may include capacitive orinductive coupling measurements.

In some embodiments, the textile contains encryption circuitry and/orde-encryption circuitry. In some embodiments, the textile is part of atwo-way radio (with encrypted conversations or text messages). Amicrophone and/or a speaker may be part of the textile, or separate(e.g. a headphone). In some embodiments, the textile is used in anarticle of clothing, such as a vest, a shirt, or hat, but the textilecould be in other items, such as an umbrella.

The ribbons with one type of device can be substantially parallel to,substantially perpendicular to or even be at some other angle to othersimilar ribbons. Preferably ribbon-to-ribbon surface contacts are on thetop of ribbons running parallel in a first direction and on the bottomof ribbons running perpendicular to the first direction. Preferablydevices are also on the top surface of ribbons running parallel in thefirst direction and on the bottom of ribbons running perpendicular tothe first direction.

Unlike the electronic display circuits on display-wide flexible sheetsof plastic as used, e.g. for television and cell phone displays,circuits described herein, use ribbons in electrical contact with otherribbons. Memory cells may be as simple as one transistor—one capacitorcells. Flexible past displays have apparently not used static memorycells. Our memory cells are preferably static memory cells, rather thandynamic. A combination of ribbons to form an electronic textile can useinorganic memory-cell containing ribbons and/or organic memory-cellcontaining ribbons. The cells may be analog or digital. The ribbonspreferably contain digital, static cells, such as SRAMs. The ribbons maycontain analog or digital FRAM cells.

Preferably, inorganic transistors are non-single crystal, andprincipally comprise silicon, germanium, zinc oxide, zinc-tin oxide, ora combination thereof. Preferably, the inorganic transistors and/ordiodes are amorphous (but they may be polycrystalline). III-VI diodesand transistors may also be used.

The memory circuitry may include one or more fusible link which may beused to introduce serial numbers into a textile, or for programming orfor repairing textile circuitry. Fusible link memory circuitry isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,593 “Fuse and antifuse reprogrammablelink for integrated circuits” to Magel and Stoltz, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein. A fuse and antifuse link structure,which when used with a memory integrated circuit device such as a gatearray or programmable read-only memory (PROM), allows the memory circuitto be reprogrammed. The fuse and antifuse link is comprised of a fuseand an antifuse, connected in series, parallel, or a combinationthereof. Either element of the link can be programmed initially, and theother can be programmed in a second step, to reverse the firstprogramming. Several links can be used in one circuit to providemultiple reprogramming capability.

The textile can also contain passive devices such as capacitors andresistors. The capacitors may have a hafnium silicate dielectric, whichis preferred as its high dielectric constant allows size reduction.

Entire transistors (not just parts of a transistor) are fabricated on aribbon (not a thread, and not a memory-wide or display-wide of plastic)and are preferably lithographically fabricated. Organic devices (e.g.entire LEDs) can also be fabricated on a ribbon and can also belithographically fabricated. The memory may be formed by assembling anumber of ribbons in a manner where the ribbons are electricallyinterconnected, and such that devices on one ribbon are interconnectedto devices on other ribbons to form a memory that is a functional unit.While an entire SRAM may also be fabricated on a ribbon, organictransistors, e.g. PMOS may be on one ribbon and inorganic transistors,e.g. NMOS may be on another (e.g. perpendicular) ribbon. Organic LEDsand inorganic transistors may be similarly on perpendicular ribbons.

Inorganic devices can be deposited on an organic substrate, or can usemetal foil ribbons or wires if for example, components are needed thatrequire high temperature processing. High temperature processing can bedone on a metal foil followed by lower temperature processing that addsother parts, such as insulating plastic. Some people have experimentedwith organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) on thread, but not on ribbon.Others have suggested active regions on ribbons, but not an entiretransistor (let alone an entire memory cell, see Ebbesen, below). Ouruse of ribbons maintains orientation during fabrication and enables theuse of integrated circuit production techniques in the manufacture ofcircuits (rather than just devices) and allows, e.g. circuits on the topof a ribbon and conductors (voltage bus, ground, addressing line, etc.)on the back side. The IDRs may also contain organic active devices, e.g.transistors. Thin-film transistors (TFTs), and processes for making bothorganic and inorganic are well known. Patents for TFTs for use indisplays include U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,021 “Thin-film transistor andmethod for making the same” by Tanaka, et al. with an inorganictransistor, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,784,452 “Organic thin film transistor”by Toguchi, et al.

The textile may contain ribbons containing active inorganicsemiconductor devices and ribbons containing active organicsemiconductor, (e.g. a polymer or a molecular device) devices. Thememory-cell ribbons may have surface contacts in direct or indirectelectrical contact with the surface contacts of other ribbons. Theactive organic device containing ribbons can be LEDs, LCDs, transistorsor other devices. There are a variety of types of LCDs, includingferroelectric and polymer. As used herein the term “organic displaydevices” is used to include all types of LCDs. The active organicdevices may include inorganic dielectrics and passive elements, eitherorganic, inorganic, or both. Unlike LCD displays, OLEDs do not require abacklight and thus generally use less energy, and can be less costly tofabricate than the traditional LCD displays.

The circuits described herein, use ribbons in electrical contact withother ribbons. Ribbons containing inorganic NMOS devices are assembledin electrical contact with ribbons containing PMOS devices (preferablyorganic) to enable flexible electronic textile circuits to beinexpensive and practical for a wide variety of functions. The use ofribbons provides flexibility, reduces costs, and allows differentprocesses to be efficiently used for different components. This isapparently the first time that ribbons (especiallyinorganic-device-containing ribbons) have been interconnected to form aflexible CMOS electronic textile.

This can also be a method of assembling an electronic textile, usingorganic TFTs and inorganic TFTs; placing the organic TFTs and inorganicTFTs in direct or indirect electrical contact to provide an electronictextile. The use of ribbons provides flexibility, reduces costs, andallows different processes to be efficiently used for differentcomponents (in both LED and LCD applications). This is apparently thefirst time that inorganic device containing ribbons have been used in anelectronic textile.

Different types of ribbons, e.g. ribbons containing inorganic activedevices can be assembled with ribbons containing organic active devicescan be used in a textile (or ribbons can contain both types of devicessee U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,774 “Transponder arrangement” to Schuermann, etal.). This allows different processes to be efficiently used fordifferent components. Using ribbons provides a larger, flatter surface(than, e.g. threads) for creating electronic devices, such astransistors and for creating surface contacts on the surface of theribbons.

Using semiconductor fabrication techniques, all the materials andprocessing for flexible thin-film transistors, solar cells, batterycells, light sensors, and antennas (including insulators andencapsulates) can be deposited in flexible form on ribbon substrates,and to contacts on the ribbon surface, are known, as are those wiringinto circuits and to contacts on the ribbon surface.

A number of ribbons can then be assembled in a manner where thedifferent types of ribbons are electrically interconnected. In someembodiments, individual memory cells are fabricated on a ribbon. Thismethod can provide an electronic textile using electricallyinterconnected ribbons containing TFTs and selected other functionaldevices on ribbons. This can provide an electronic textile for a varietyof applications, e.g. circuits for at least part of a radio ortransceiver, or control circuits for a wide variety of applications.

The textile may also contain ribbons with memory cells having inorganictransistors, and/or ribbons with memory cells having organictransistors. A number of ribbons can then be assembled in a manner wherethe different types of ribbons are electrically interconnected. Thusdevices on one ribbon can be interconnected to different type devices onother ribbons to form a textile that is a functional unit.

The textile may provide visible light, and/or UV light and/or IR light,and the light may be used in communications, and may have light sensors(preferably narrow band) which may be used in 2-way communications. Insome embodiments, the textile contains encryption circuitry and/orde-encryption circuitry. In some embodiments, the textile is part of atwo-way radio (with encrypted conversations or text messages). Line ofsight communication with the textile can also be by light (e.g. UV witha UV sensor and a UV LED in the textile). A microphone and/or a speakermay be part of the textile, or separate (e.g. a headphone). In someembodiments, the textile is used in an article of clothing, such as avest, a shirt, or hat, but the textile could be in other items, such asan umbrella. The textile may be attached to a variety of objects,including moving objects such as a bicycle to make the object more (orin some cases, less) noticeable. In some applications, the functionaldevices provide power for the textile. In some applications, thefunctional devices provide communication (receiver, transceiver, orsignaling) capabilities for the textile. In some applications, thefunctional devices provide both capabilities. An antenna can also beused to collect energy, (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,774 “Transponderarrangement” to Schuermann, et al.).

This electronic textile can have electrically interconnected ribbonscontaining static memory cells (or TFTs for static memory cells)providing an electronic textile with memory cells that can be addressedon a cell by cell basis. The textile may contain ribbons with memorycells having inorganic transistors, and/or ribbons with memory cellshaving organic transistors.

One type of device (e.g. inorganic-TFT or SRAM) can be fabricated on onetype of ribbon, and another type of device (e.g. organic-TFT, SRAM, orLED) fabricated on another type of ribbon. Inorganic and organic-TFTscan be on adjacent ribbons (side by side or one crossing over theother). In some embodiments, the static RAM is fabricated usinginorganic-TFTs on one ribbon. In some embodiments, three different colorLEDs fabricated on three different organic ribbons (the organic LEDribbons may also contain an organic TFT that controls current through anLED). A number of ribbons can then be assembled in a manner where thedifferent types of ribbons are electrically interconnected. Thus deviceson one ribbon can be interconnected to different type devices on otherribbons to form a textile that is a functional unit.

Entire TFT-containing memory cells (not just parts of a cell) may befabricated on a ribbon (not a thread, and not a memory-wide ordisplay-wide of piece of plastic) and are preferably lithographicallyfabricated. In some embodiments, the textile contains ribbons withinorganic transistors, and adjacent ribbons with organic transistors,and inorganic transistors on ribbons are electrically interconnectedwith organic transistors on adjacent ribbons, to form SRAM cells.Organic devices (e.g. entire LEDs and TFTs) can also be fabricated on aribbon and can also be lithographically fabricated. The memory is formedby assembling a number of ribbons in a manner where the ribbons areelectrically interconnected, and thus devices on one ribbon areinterconnected to devices on other ribbons to form a textile that is afunctional unit.

Unlike the electronic circuits on a single flexible sheet of plastic asused, e.g. for television and cell phone displays, the circuitsdescribed herein use ribbons in electrical contact with other ribbons.Our combination of ribbons to form an electronic textile uses inorganicactive-devices containing ribbons (IDRs). The IDRs can be used incombination with different types of ribbons. For example, organicactive-element containing ribbons (OER) can be woven with IDRs. Theribbons may be woven together much the same as a basket weave, however,the weave may vary with a ribbon going over two or more ribbons beforegoing under a ribbon again. Fastening ribbons on a fabric backing (by,e.g. sewing) can provide even more flexibility, as, e.g., one type ofribbon could be on top all of the time. The active organicsemiconductors may be TFTs and/or LEDs. The active organicsemiconductors may be a TFT and/or diode (including TFTs, lasers, and/orlight detectors).

This can be a method of making an electronic textile using ribbonscontaining organic devices. Preferably, at least some of the organicsemiconductor devices are organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). Thetextile can have ribbons of organic TFTs woven (and in direct orindirect electrical contact) with ribbons of inorganic (or otherorganic) TFTs. The textile may also contain ribbons containing organicdisplay devices, with the organic display device (e.g. LED, or LCD)containing ribbons assembled into said electronic textile with theorganic semiconductor ribbons. The ribbons containing organic thin-filmtransistors can contain RAM cells.

The ribbon may be an organic pixel or sub-pixel cell containing ribbon.The organic pixel or sub-pixel cell may be an LCD. The ribbon may bepart of a textile used in an article of clothing, e.g. in a vest. Theribbon may be an organic TFT and LCD containing ribbon.

The ribbon-to-ribbon electrical connections may be direct or indirect,(e.g. ribbons may be connected through other ribbons, or threads, orwires) and such connections are preferably made through surfacecontacts. Generally, the devices on the ribbons are directly orindirectly electrically connected to the ribbon's surface contacts (theymay be directly connected by one or more conductor, or there may beintervening devices). Further, devices on the ribbons may be directly orindirectly electrically connected to a ribbon's longitudinal conductor,e.g. voltage bus, ground bus, and/or cell or sub-pixel addressing line(wordline or bitline).

The use of ribbons provides flexibility, reduces costs, and allowsdifferent processes to be efficiently used for different components(e.g. in both LED and LCD applications). This is apparently the firsttime that inorganic device containing ribbons have been used in anelectronic textile. Ebbesen U.S. Pat. No. 6,856,715 weaves variouselements, including ribbons to construct devices such as transistorsfrom active regions on multiple substrates “to provide alithography-free process” rather than fabricating transistors entirelyon a single ribbon. Our devices (e.g. transistors or RAMs) arefabricated entirely on a single ribbon and are preferablylithographically fabricated.

In most embodiments, the transistors are TFTs, e.g. in SRAMs. FRAMs(ferroelectric RAMs) may have ferroelectric-TFTs and/or ferroelectriccapacitors. The FRAMs may be analog or digital. The ribbons may be wovenin the textile and/or be used in conjunction with (generally attachedto) a woven backing. The textile may provide red, green and blue light,and again, different color LEDs can also be fabricated on differentribbons. In some embodiments, intensity of light generated in thetextile is digitally controlled. The textile may provide UV light and/orIR light. Preferably, the textile contains inorganic transistors thatare amorphous, and principally comprise silicon, germanium, zinc oxide,zinc-tin oxide, or a combination thereof.

The use of static RAM pixel drive circuits, such as SRAMs or FRAMsallows asynchronous addressing and the addressing of individual pixelsonly when that pixel changes, rather than addressing every pixel 60 to80 times a second as with dynamic RAM pixel drive circuits, dramaticallyreduces power and bandwidth requirements (see “Display BandwidthReduction via Latched Pixels and Processing at the Pixel” by B. Gnade,et al, noted above). This can provide bandwidth reductions similar tothose provided by the use of JPEG.

The use of circuits with a combination of ribbons containing inorganicactive devices (and especially a combination of different types ofribbons) now also enables flexible electronic textiles to be inexpensiveand practical for a wide variety of functions. Using ribbons provides alarger, flatter surface (than, e.g. threads) for creating electronicdevices, such as SRAMs, and for surface contacts (such that slidingcontacts can be used for greater textile flexibility).

In one of our test embodiments, a display was assembled with ribbonscontaining organic active devices (OLEDs). Such ribbons can be wovenwith ribbons containing inorganic drive transistors.

To our knowledge there are no previous examples of ribbon displays basedon organic light emitting materials. One of the keys to successfullymaking a textile display based on organic light emitting materials isthe ability to make ribbons that are robust and can be incorporated intothe woven display with high yield and high reliability.

The process for making the OLED/PLED element can start with atransparent, plastic substrate (as used herein, the term “OLED/PLED”generally means “an OLED, preferably, a PLED”). In this particularexample the substrate is designated as PEN (Poly Ethylene Naphthalate)or PET (polyethylene terephthalate). On one side of the plastic therewas a transparent conductor, which made up the anode. The anode wasindium tin oxide (ITO), but could be any transparent conductor that haslow resistivity and high transparency in the region of interest. The ITOwas patterned to limit the area of overlap between the anode and the topmetal contact. This reduces the probability of having an electricalshort through the insulator between the anode and cathode. The next stepin the process was deposition of a dielectric, as an electricalinsulator to separate the anode and cathode everywhere except throughthe OLED stack. The insulator can also provide a physical barrier torestrict the permeation of oxygen and water into the OLED/PLED stackfrom the side. Examples of materials which could be used as theinsulator include oxides such as Al2O3 or SiO2, nitrides such as Si3N4,or an organic dielectric such as parylene. In many embodiments, thedielectric is preferably an inorganic material, to provide betterphysical barrier properties. The next step is to form the OLED/PLEDstack. The light emitting stack can be as simple as a one layer polymersuch as MEH-PPV (poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene]), or it can be more complicated, such as an electron injectionlayer—hole blocking layer—emissive layer—electron blocking layer—holeinjection layer. The complexity of the layer structure is determined bythe light emitting material used. After the OLED/PLED structure wasformed, the cathode was deposited. In this example the cathode was alayered structure of LiF/Al, but could be Al only, AgMg, Ca/Al, etc.,again dependent on the OLED/PLED stack material used. A noble metallayer can be added on top of the cathode to improve the contact betweenthe row and column ribbons. This top layer of noble metal can also servethe added function of providing a barrier to oxygen and moisture fromreaching the cathode material or the OLED/PLED material. In addition thenoble metal layer can extend beyond the area of the pixel element.Finally an insulating barrier layer was added on top of the completedstack to further reduce the permeation of oxygen and water.

One of our test embodiments demonstrated the use of processing usingorganic active devices, in this case diodes. The processing of organictransistors is similar.

Similarly, different inorganic devices can be made on different ribbons.For example, logic circuit ribbons and FRAM ribbons can be made bydifferent processes and then combined into an electronic textile.Further, organic PMOS devices and inorganic NMOS devices can be made bydifferent processes and then combined into an electronic textile. FRAMcircuits with OLEDs are mentioned is U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,972,526 by Abe;6,563,480 by Nakamura; and 6,872,969 by Redecker. FRAM circuits withliquid crystal displays (LCDs) are mentioned in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,819,310by Huang, et al.; 6,747,623 by Koyama; 6,850,217 by Huang, et al.; and6,563,483 by Sakumoto. Sakumoto '483 also mentions asynchronousaddressing of pixels.

To our knowledge, all other solutions for flexible displays based onOLEDs are based on implementations using a single substrate for thedisplay. Here, the OLED/PLED picture elements are formed on a ribbon andthe display is assembled from the ribbons. Here the process used tofabricate an OLED/PLED stack can be optimized specifically for thatstructure. For instance, in our embodiment, not all of the colors needto be on one OLED ribbon. We can mix and match materials and processesto give the best performance for that specific color, because each ofthe colors can be made on a separate substrate (e.g. all of theblue-emitter ribbons being made with a different process, than thered-emitting ribbons). The different substrates are brought togetheronce the ribbons are in the display format (e.g. woven). This also makesit much easier to make a color display using OLEDs, because iteliminates the need to pattern the different color materials. Anothersignificant difference is that each ribbon of the pixel elements can bepretested, and/or can be tested (and replaced if necessary) duringassembly. In a traditional display if there are more than a few defects,either in the active matrix control logic, or in the picture elements,the entire display is scrapped. In our embodiment, only a single strip(e.g. one weft ribbon the width of the display) would have to bescrapped, of either the picture element or control logic element. Theother significant advantage is that this technique should allow us tomake very large displays, because the essentially defect free area needonly be the width of a single ribbon times the length of the ribbon,rather than the width of the entire display times the length of theentire display.

Similarly, different inorganic devices can be made on different ribbons.For example, logic circuit ribbons (or LED ribbons) and FRAM ribbons canbe made by different processes and then combined into an electronictextile. Further, organic PMOS devices and inorganic NMOS devices can bemade by different processes and then combined into an electronictextile.

The electronic textile ribbons may be woven, may be attached onto afabric backing, or may be a combination thereof (e.g. some ribbons maybe woven, others not woven, with both woven and not-woven ribbonsattached onto a fabric backing). Further, other components such asthreads or wires can be used in the electronic textile, and said othercomponents can be woven with the ribbons (or not), and can also be usedin attaching of ribbons onto a fabric backing.

During assembly, in some embodiments, dynamic alignment of surfacecontacts and defect testing can be done by automated (and/or human)observation of light emission and/or electronic measurements (allowingduring assembly replacement of ribbons containing defects). Warp ribbonsand a weft ribbon being added can be energized through theirlongitudinal conductors and surface contacts to allow testing before thetextile is completely assembled, thus significantly increasingproduction efficiency and yield. Automated aligning of contacts isespecially useful in centering of surface contacts, and preferably boththe surface contacts of warp ribbons and surface contacts of the weftribbons are centered (thus aligned in both x and y dimensions). Warp andweft ribbons may be pressed together to provide alignment-maintainingindentations in the warp and/or weft ribbon surface contacts afterassembly or on a weft ribbon by weft ribbon basis during assembly.

Indentations may be facilitated by having deformable plastic orelastomeric under a metal contact. In some cases, using a plastic (e.g.thermoplastic or thermoset, or thermoplastic elastomer) under a metalcontact and heat during deformation can be used. In some embodiments,metal to metal bonding is used between surface contacts in the assembledfabric. In some preferred embodiments, metal to metal contact withoutbonding is used between surface contacts in the assembled fabric. Inother cases, metal to conductive organic material to metal is used.

The ability to make defect free systems using conventional processingtechnology over a square meter has been a daunting technical challenge.The concept of a textile display that is fabricated a ribbon at a timecan address several issues; 1) each ribbon can be pre-tested, so thearea that must be defect free is only the width of the system times thewidth of an individual ribbon, 2) the cost of manufacturing the systemwill increase linearly with area for a textile, rather thanquadratically for a single substrate system, 3) complexity at theelement level can be increased because each ribbon can contain severalactive components, and 4) overall complexity is provided at the systemlevel, by integrating simple device ribbons together. Because we can usethe textile display architecture, we are no longer constrained to usingthe same process flow for the different pixel elements. We can use thebest process for each, so when they are combined we get the best systemsolution. The OLED/PLED pixel architecture described herein provides arobust pixel that can be less sensitive to oxygen and water, and thatcan provide good electrical isolation between the anode and cathode overthe entire length of the pixel element ribbon.

One embodiment has an electronic textile as part of a display withorganic-LED (OLED)-containing ribbons with sub-pixel (e.g. red, green,or blue) LEDs, woven with inorganic-RAM-containing ribbons, and inertthread, with the bottom of the organic-LED-containing ribbon being inelectrical contact with the top of the RAM-containing ribbon. TheRAM-containing ribbons can be run parallel to or perpendicular (or both)the organic-LED-containing ribbons. Analog RAMs are used in this examplefor simplicity, other types of drive circuits, e.g. SRAMs could also beused. When run parallel to the organic-LED-containing ribbons,electrical contacts can be made indirectly by interconnect ribbons orinterconnect threads. Thus the textile may contain ribbons with memorycircuitry and conductors for addressing the memory circuitry.

As used herein, the terms “in electrical contact” and “in direct orindirect electrical contact” both include direct contact betweenribbons, and indirect contact where one or more other ribbons, threads,wires, or other conductive elements are used to indirectly connect theribbons. Devices within ribbons are generally directly or indirectlyconnect to surface contacts of those ribbons (e.g. they may beelectrically connected through other devices).

As it applies to inorganic examples, FIG. 1 shows a portion of anelectronic textile (part of a display in this example) with side view ofa segment of an organic-LED (OLED)-containing ribbon 12 with a sub-pixel(e.g. red) LED, woven with an inorganic RAM-containing ribbon 14, and aninert thread 16 (both in cross-section). A color display can have setsof red, green, and blue LED-containing ribbons, and the three ribbonstogether can make up a line of (e.g. 1,024) pixels. The RAM-containingribbon 14 here runs perpendicular to the OLED-containing ribbon 12, andparallel to the inert thread 16. The RAM-containing ribbon 14 has twosurface contacts (18, 20) for making electrical contact with OLED ribbonsurface contacts (22, 24) on the bottom of the OLED-containing ribbons.The RAM-containing ribbon here has a Y-line 26 (e.g. a wordline), asecondary voltage conductor 28 and a ground conductor 30 running thelength of the ribbon. Here a RAM-containing ribbon 14 makes contact toan OLED in OLED ribbon 12 (e.g. one OLED in a row of OLEDs in multipleOLED ribbons) of one color (one RAM-containing ribbon could make contactwith OLEDs of more than one color). The dimensions of OLEDs here are notpatterned in the OLEM (organic light emitting material), but aredetermined by current flowing between the bottom OLED contact and thetop transparent conductor. By using an analog RAM 32, current througheach sub-pixel can be controlled by an analog voltage on the gate of aTFT (not shown) in RAM 32, to control the amount of light emitted bythat sub-pixel, and controlling the three sub-pixels (e.g. red, green,and blue) in a pixel can control the color and intensity of that pixel.The inorganic analog RAM (e.g. an inorganic TFT and a capacitor) can beused to control a sub-pixel, but such an arrangement generally consumessignificantly greater power, and an SRAM is preferred. Similarly,several (e.g. 5) digital RAMs may be used to control a sub-pixel, andinstead of an analog RAM. Generally, SRAMs, DRAMs, etc. may be used. TheOLED-containing ribbon 12 generally has both a transparent conductorlayer (e.g. ITO) and an X-line conductor (e.g. a bitline) running itslength (not shown in this figure).

As it applies to inorganic examples, FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of asegment of the organic-LED-containing ribbon 12. Two surface contacts(22, 24) on the bottom of ribbon 12 are for making electrical contactwith surface contacts on the top of the RAM-containing ribbon 14. TheOLED surface contact 24 is electrically connected to the bottom of theOLED 34, and the X-line contact 22 is connected to the X-line conductor36 (e.g. bitline). Other than the exposed portion of surface contacts(22, 24), the bottom of the ribbon 12 is covered with OLED bottominsulator 38.

As it applies to inorganic examples, FIG. 3 shows a top view of asegment of the RAM-containing ribbon 14. Other than exposed portions ofsurface contacts (18, 20) and the RAM 32, the top of the RAM ribbon 14is covered with RAM embedding insulator 33. Additional conductorsrunning the length of the RAM ribbon can be added as needed, dependingon details of the RAM circuit design. RAM circuits with OLEDs arementioned is U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,972,526 by Abe; 6,563,480 by Nakamura; and6,872,969 by Redecker. RAM circuits with liquid crystal displays (LCDs)are mentioned is U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,819,310 by Huang, et al.; 6,747,623 byKoyama; 6,850,217 by Huang, et al.; and 6,563,483 by Sakumoto. Sakumoto'483 also mentions asynchronous addressing of pixels.

As it applies to inorganic examples, FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional viewof a segment of the organic-LED-containing ribbon. The ITO layer 40provides the voltage bus and is in electrical contact with the OLED 34.OLED surface contact 24 provides the bottom contact to OLED 34 throughOLED bottom plate 42. As mentioned above, the dimensions of OLEDs hereare not patterned in the OLEM, but are determined by current flowingbetween the bottom OLED contact and the top conductor, and thus organiclight emitting material without significant current 44 does not emit.The X conductor 36 is embedded in OLED side insulation 46, and the ITOlayer 40 is covered with OLED top insulation 48.

As it applies to inorganic examples, FIG. 5 shows a simplified circuitarrangement for such a sub-pixel. The transparent conducting ITO layer40 provides voltage bus V, the OLED 34, and X-line 36, and OLED ribboncontacts (22, 24) are in the OLED ribbon 12. The Y-line 26, secondaryvoltage conductor 28, ground conductor 30, inorganic RAM 32, and the RAMribbon surface contacts (18, 20) are in the RAM ribbon 14. The currentflow through the analog RAM 32 determines the brightness of thesub-pixel OLED 34.

As it applies to organic examples, FIG. 1 shows a portion of anelectronic textile (part of a display in this example) with side view ofa segment of an organic-LED (OLED)-containing ribbon 12 with a sub-pixel(e.g. red) LED, woven with an organic RAM-containing ribbon 14, and aninert thread 16 (both in cross-section). A color display can have setsof red, green, and blue LED-containing ribbons, and the three ribbonstogether can make up a line of (e.g. 1,024) pixels. The RAM-containingribbon 14 here runs perpendicular to the OLED-containing ribbon 12, andparallel to the inert thread 16. The RAM-containing ribbon 14 has twosurface contacts (18, 20) for making electrical contact with OLED ribbonsurface contacts (22, 24) on the bottom of the OLED-containing ribbons.The RAM-containing ribbon here has a Y-line 26 (e.g. a wordline), asecondary voltage conductor 28 and a ground conductor 30 running thelength of the ribbon. Here a RAM-containing ribbon 14 makes contact toan OLED in OLED ribbon 12 (e.g. one OLED in a row of OLEDs in multipleOLED ribbons) of one color (one RAM-containing ribbon could make contactwith OLEDs of more than one color). The dimensions of OLEDs here are notpatterned in the OLEM (organic light emitting material), but aredetermined by current flowing between the bottom OLED contact and thetop conductor. By using an analog RAM 32, current through each sub-pixelcan be controlled by an analog voltage on the gate of a TFT (not shown)in RAM 32, to control the amount of light emitted by that sub-pixel, andcontrolling the three sub-pixels (e.g. red, green, and blue) in a pixelcan control the color and intensity of that pixel. The organic analogRAM (e.g. an organic TFT and a capacitor) can be used to control asub-pixel, but such an arrangement generally consumes significantlygreater power, and an SRAM is preferred. There is development work beingdone on organic RAMs, and they are a possibility for future electronictextiles. Similarly, several (e.g. 5) digital RAMs may be used tocontrol a sub-pixel, and instead of an analog RAM. Generally, SRAMs,DRAMs, etc. may be used. The OLED-containing ribbon 12 generally hasboth a transparent conductor layer (e.g. ITO) and an X-line conductor(e.g. a bitline) running its length (not shown in this figure).

As it applies to organic examples, FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of asegment of the organic-LED-containing ribbon 12. Two surface contacts(22, 24) on the bottom of ribbon 12 are for making electrical contactwith surface contacts on the top of the RAM-containing ribbon 14. TheOLED surface contact 24 is electrically connected to the bottom of theOLED 34, and the X-line contact 22 is connected to the X-line conductor36 (e.g. bitline). Other than the exposed portion of surface contacts(22, 24), the bottom of the ribbon 12 is covered with OLED bottominsulator 38.

As it applies to organic examples, FIG. 3 shows a top view of a segmentof the RAM-containing ribbon 14. Other than exposed portions of surfacecontacts (18, 20) and the RAM 32, the top of the RAM ribbon 14 iscovered with RAM embedding insulator 33. Additional conductors runningthe length of the RAM ribbon can be added as needed, depending ondetails of the RAM circuit design. RAM circuits with OLEDs are mentionedis U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,972,526 by Abe; 6,563,480 by Nakamura; and 6,872,969by Redecker. RAM circuits with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) arementioned is U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,819,310 by Huang, et al.; 6,747,623 byKoyama; 6,850,217 by Huang, et al.; and 6,563,483 by Sakumoto. Sakumoto'483 also mentions asynchronous addressing of pixels.

As it applies to organic examples, FIG. 4 shows a cross-section view ofa segment of the organic-LED-containing ribbon. The ITO layer 40provides the voltage bus and is in electrical contact with the OLED 34.OLED surface contact 24 provides the bottom contact to OLED 34 throughOLED bottom plate 42. As mentioned above, the dimensions of OLEDs hereare not patterned in the OLEM, but are determined by current flowingbetween the bottom OLED contact and the top transparent conductor, andthus organic light emitting material without significant current 44 doesnot emit. The X conductor 36 is embedded in OLED side insulation 46, andthe ITO layer 40 is covered with OLED top insulation 48.

As it applies to organic examples, FIG. 5 shows a simplified circuitarrangement for such a sub-pixel. The transparent conducting ITO layer40 provides voltage bus V, the OLED 34, and X-line 36, and OLED ribboncontacts (22, 24) are in the OLED ribbon 12. The Y-line 26, secondaryvoltage conductor 28, ground conductor 30, organic RAM 32, and the RAMribbon surface contacts (18, 20) are in the RAM ribbon 14. The currentflow through the analog RAM 32 determines the brightness of thesub-pixel OLED 34.

Co-filed provisional application entitled “Testing Electronic TextilesDuring Assembly and Electronic Textile Displays” is hereby incorporatedby reference herein.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been describedabove, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification, butonly by the claims.

It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specificationcan be implemented with respect to any method, kit, reagent, orcomposition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositionsof the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention.

It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein areshown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention.The principal features of this invention can be employed in variousembodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no morethan routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specificprocedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to bewithin the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in the specificationare indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art towhich this invention pertains. All publications and patent applicationsare herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if eachindividual publication or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term“comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” butit is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,”and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims isused to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer toalternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, althoughthe disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternativesand “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used toindicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for thedevice, the method being employed to determine the value, or thevariation that exists among the study subjects.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (andany form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having”(and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and anyform of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing”(and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) areinclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecitedelements or method steps.

The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to allpermutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term.For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to includeat least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is importantin a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB.Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations thatcontain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, MB, BBC,AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan willunderstand that typically there is no limit on the number of items orterms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein canbe made and executed without undue experimentation in light of thepresent disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this inventionhave been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will beapparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied tothe compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence ofsteps of the method described herein without departing from the concept,spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes andmodifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to bewithin the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

1. A method of providing an electronic textile, comprising: providingribbons containing thin-film transistors; and placing said ribbons indirect or indirect electrical contact to electrically interconnect saidribbons to provide an electronic textile with static memory cells. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein said textile contains ribbons withinorganic thin-film transistors.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein saidtextile contains ribbons with organic transistors.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said textile contains ribbons with memory cells havinginorganic thin-film transistors, and ribbons with memory cells havingorganic transistors.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein ribbons withinorganic transistors, are substantially parallel to ribbons withorganic transistors.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein ribbons withinorganic transistors, are substantially perpendicular to ribbons withorganic transistors.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said thin-filmtransistors are lithographically fabricated.
 8. A method of assemblingan electronic textile; comprising: providing ribbons containingnon-single-crystal inorganic semiconductor devices directly orindirectly electrically connected to surface contacts; and assemblingsaid ribbons with electrical interconnections through said surfacecontacts into an electronic textile.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinribbons containing active organic semiconductor devices are in direct orindirect electrical contact with said inorganic semiconductor ribbons.10. The method of claim 8, wherein said inorganic semiconductorcontaining ribbons comprise at least one of inorganic semiconductortransistors and inorganic semiconductor diodes.
 11. The method of claim9, wherein said active organic containing ribbons comprise LEDs.